City Lights Love (Bolin x Reader)

Prologue

A lot of people don't like gangsters cause commit crime and hurt people, but they aren't all bad. I say that because they're my family. Ever since my dad died, they're all the "family" I have left. But I wasn't just left with a family, my dad left me a lot when he died. I got a place to live, money to support myself, his possessions, and the protection of one of the most prominent gangs in Republic City: the Triple Threat Triads. Thinking back I suppose it's weird. How did a fourteen year old girl gain such a valuable asset as the protection of the Triple Threats? It's simple: My late father was their former leader.

Before my father died in a police fight, he was Maizu "The Storm", the leader of the Triple Threats. He was well respected and the strongest bender in the gang. Like me, he was a waterbender. Waterbending makes me feel close to him, even when he's not with me anymore. He taught me everything I know. He was a strict teacher, but he just wanted me to be my best. It paid off too. The waterbending came in handy when people tried to kidnap me when I was younger to get at my dad. Instead of needing to be rescued, I was able to get myself out with ease. My dad was always so proud of me when I came home. He'd always take me to see the next pro-bending match as a reward. We loved pro bending and we always had the best seats.

Anyway, when my dad did die, Zolt took over as leader. Zolt let me hang out in what used to be my dad's office and let me practice my bending. When he needed me to leave, I would take a cup of water into the lobby. I would sit on a couch and bend the water in the cup. I'd freeze it and unfreeze it or whatever I wanted to practice.

A few months after my dad died, I was in the lobby when the legendary pro-bender Toza walked in. At the time, I was so excited I had almost lost control of the water I was bending. I had immediately put away my water and ran up to him and totally fan-girled out and made a fool of myself. Toza said he was happy to have such an avid fan. He was going to pat me on the head, but Shady Shin, being the protective type, swatted his hand away. Tozas face turned from happiness to fear. Shin told me to go practice my waterbending so he could do some business with Toza.

While I sat with my water, my heart sank as I heard Shin tell Toza how much he would be making if he threw the match the next night. Then, two boys walked in the door and one boy, like I did, freaked out when he saw Toza. I had seen them many times before but I never got to talk to them. When Shin handed Toza the money, the boys face saddened as mine did. The brothers sat down next to me and sighed.

We introduced ourselves and I learned the pro bending fanboy was Bolin and the one with the red scarf draped around his neck was Mako. Mako explained that eight years prior, their parents had been killed by a firebender. They had been in the gang ever since. I was hardly paying attention, Bolin and I had instead watched Toza leave with his head hanging low. Bolin had said he was going to be sad to see Toza lose and I completely agreed with him. Mako got angry at Bolin and said that he was choosing to lose and he's getting paid to do it so we had nothing to be sad about.

Shin then told the boys to go collect some more bets for the match and threatened to throw them back out on the streets if they hadn't collected enough. They raced out the door, but not before Bolin had asked if I had wanted to talk more about pro-bending later. I had agreed too and I was ecstatic, then the left. I asked Shin why Toza had to through the fight and he said it was just good business. After that, Shin practiced waterbending with me. He said I had to be strong if I wanted to lead this gang like my father did.

The next day, Zolt and Shin took me to watch the pro-bending match. Bolin and Mako were there too. Bolin had shown up with a small fire ferret on his shoulder and called him Pabu. I remember him being very soft. It was hard to watch the match knowing it had been rigged. But suddenly, out of nowhere, Toza was bending like he did in his early career. He had knocked out all of his opponents and won the match. Bolin and I cheered wildly. Bolin said he told Toza not to throw the match and he listened. Then Shin turned to Bolin in a fury before both the boys ran away with Shin after them.

By the time Zolt and I caught up to them, Toza and the brothers were facing off with Shin. Zolt stopped the fight immediately. He said it was embarrassing that Shin was losing to two kids and an old man. He was disappointed that Toza did not honor their agreement. Toza just threw the money he was given the day before back at our feet. Zolt decided we were going back to the hideout to "discuss" what Bolin had just cost the Triple Threats. Honestly, I thought Shin or Zolt was going to kill him when we got back. Then Toza did the most amazing thing: he invited the boys to stay with him and he would teach them pro-bending, so they could make a clean living. As I remember, in that moment, Bolins eyes were brighter than the lights that lit Republic City.

I was so jealous. I still am. I was going to run up Toza and ask if he could train me too, but Zolt put his hand on my shoulder. Then I remembered: I had a family I couldn't abandon and I needed to live up to their expectations. I saw the disappointment on the brothers faces when I planted my feet in place. When Zolt and Shin left, I followed. I didn't abandon my family that night, but I lost something that I desperately needed. Our worlds were on different paths.

After that, I went to as many matches as I could to watch the Fire Ferrets. He knew where he belong no matter if he won or lost. I so badly wanted to be in that ring with him. So I trained hard. It made Zolt and everyone else in the gang happy to see me improve so much. But I didn't do it to make them happy or to fulfil my dad's expectations. I did it to see the boy who had city lights in his eyes.

It's been about three years since then. Zolt is on phone with Viper and he's saying he just got arrested and beaten up by a crazy chick and her polar bear dog, claiming to be the avatar.

A/N: The prologue is based on Republic City Hustle, a web series released in August of 2013 on Nick.com. It is considered cannon to the Legend of Korra series. You can find it on YouTube. I encourage you to look it up, it is super cute!